KDP Select: Will you enroll your eBooks?

[EllenFisher]

First off, B&N has done wonders on their site and with the new Nook, why would you want to miss out on that?  I've personally seen my Nook sales grow the past two months.

Not everyone sells on B&N. It really seems to depend on genre.  My erotic romance has done very well there, but my romance... not so much. Some people just can't seem to gain a toehold there, which probably makes the decision rather easy.

Second, Amazon only accounts for about 50-60% of my sales (and for December, they are only at 47%)... why would I want to cut off 50% of my sales and customers?

You probably wouldn't.  That makes it a relatively easy decision for you.  But others have different sales patterns.

Third, this option with all the free is out of hand... people complaining about their sales, etc. it's all because of this free nonsense.  Stop making things free... but value on your work and let the readers come.

Making a book free doesn't devalue it.  It gives you valuable exposure. That's why people post about it, because it works.  That being said, if everyone can make their book free easily, even for a short time, then the value of freeness may in fact diminish.  We'll have to wait and see what happens there, I think.

[historicalromauthor]

Just saw the option. 90 days is a long time, IMO. Right now it's not something I would consider. Exclusivity scares the crap out of me. Beholden to only one publishing 'god'...nope.

[Lisa J. Yarde]

It's somewhat tempting as Kindle sales generate most of my revenue. If I did it, I would try one book or my series, not all. Exclusivity bothers me and there are too many variables that haven't been explained about the enrollment; "at least 90" - how do you opt out?

[EllenFisher]

Oooh, they just added a new column on KDP: "units borrowed." I was wondering how I could tell!

And interestingly, the book I enrolled in Select is still showing "no" for enrollment.

[ETS PRESS]

Does making your books available in print everywhere via CreateSpace disqualify you?

I can't do this with my current books.

Might consider it for future books.

The exclusive deal is for ebooks. You can still have print books. 

[kellymcclymer]

I consider everything an experiment these days, so I'm in. I have an original YA, Blood Angel, that was only up at Smashwords and B&N so far (and Amazon, of course). Sales have barely broken double digits (I haven't promoted much). I had it at 99 cents for a Halloween promotion, but was unwilling to go to free because of the hassle, unpredictability and fact that it is a standalone and not likely to promulgate sales to my historical romance series or short stories. Being able to offer limited time free in the after-Christmas period is huge to me. I love this book, but it isn't going to appeal to everyone. I want it to reach as many of its true readers as it can.

I've already taken it off sale at Smashwords and B&N and enrolled in the kdp select. Fingers crossed this is a great program and Amazon is using it to test ways to give indie authors a little more control of their marketing.

The exclusivity doesn't bother me at this point -- they're offering us a big promo deal, and it is an experiment for everyone, so we should all be in it together. If B&N follows suit, I just might do the same with them, after the 90 days passes. Why not? Experiment means trying everything and winnowing out what works and what doesn't.

I'm not tempted at all for my other books, though, because they're distributed everywhere through Smashwords and it would take forever to get them unpublished elsewhere (while losing potential after holiday sales). I'm going to put up the last two romances in my Once Upon a Wedding series soon, and I *may* consider enrolling one of them in the program. Maybe. I'll have to see how many free books I gave away at B&N (it's distributed through Smashwords).

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Almost as bad as trying to find the perfect gift for family members this time of year.

[George Berger]

I'm in with my new book coming out around the 13th. I have basically zero traction outside of Amazon for e-books - I can't even give a title away free on iTunes, for crying out loud - so I'll give it a shot for probably at least six months. What's the worst that happens, I don't make any money? Not as if I'd notice the difference...

[Amy Corwin]

Interesting concept. I'm wondering if it helps at all or you just don't get the (much smaller) sales outside of Amazon?

If this would then change things back to the "you might also like" algorythm they used last summer (when I sold like hotcakes) then it might be worth considering. As it is, I'm not sure what the advantages would be, realistically. It's a fancy title for basically being able to make your book free for a few days should you choose to do so and potentially get a share of the pot if folks borrow your book. hmmmm

Not sure how that would enhance my bottom line, if you know what I mean?

[jimbronyaur]

Making a book free doesn't devalue it.  It gives you valuable exposure. That's why people post about it, because it works.  That being said, if everyone can make their book free easily, even for a short time, then the value of freeness may in fact diminish.  We'll have to wait and see what happens there, I think.

That's what I fear... $2.99 used to be cheap, then came the $0.99 train, and now the FREE train.  What's next?  I think for exclusivity, Amazon should offer something more... not just the option of lending and FREE.  Because, remember, for lending, it's 1 book a month... I am a Prime Member and I get 1 book a month for free.  The books I'll borrow for the month are the ones that are $10+, not some $2.99 indie book.  So it comes back to the free thing then.  People signing up to make their books free easier... more free books - yay.

-jb

[foreverjuly]

I dropped Suspense in there, and we'll see how long it takes to show up as enrolled. Funny that Pubit isn't allowing books to be removed. I wonder if they caught wind of this!

[dgaughran]

I'm not against the Lending Library or KDP Select per se, but I would like to raise some concerns as I think this whole thing seems a little rushed so that Amazon can boost the number of books in the Lending Library to make Prime membership more attractive to all the new Kindle owners.

I think self-publishers should consider all the issues carefully, as we could be setting the parameters of future author compensation from Amazon.

1. Limited, Fixed Pot

I would prefer some kind of check-out fee rather than a limited, fixed pot. I think that's a bad precedent - Amazon just "budgeting" for lending (and thinking of it as a fixed cost) rather than paying a continual rental fee of some kind. If the program is wildly successful (which it may well be) and if huge numbers of indies participate (which they probably will) then we won't earn very much at all.

I think that subscription models will form a big part of the mix in the future. That's not something I'm against (I try and avoid getting worked up about things that are inevitable). And I consider this to be a form of subscription model.

It might be instructive to compare it to other subscription models. The big difference is the fixed, limited pot - I think this is where the problems will lie.

There are plenty of start-ups toying with a subscription model – i.e. a Netflix/Spotify for books - including 24symbols, Flatleaf, and Platify/Litfy. All of them, more or less, will pay the authors each time the book is read or downloaded - a fixed fee per rental/read. Some decide based on the number of pages read, others just pay a per book fee when it's downloaded. They all generate money for these fees through subscriptions and advertising. Usually it's some form of low or no fee to read from a limited library with ads in the books (the ads are okay, like one-page glossies in magazines, rather than crude text ads or pop-ups) - and then a "premium" account with a monthly subscription which gets rid of the ads and allows access to a wider selection.

The revenue splits are much much better than Spotify (if you are familiar with that). All the companies recognize that while a song might be listened to again and again, a book tends to be read once. As such - the models I've seen tend to split around two-thirds of the ad revenue with the author/publisher - and then a fixed amount per book read/download/page read.

The main point is that there is no limit to what you can earn - there is no fixed pot being divvied out between an ever-increasing amount of books.

That fixed pot sounds sweet - $500,000 per month - but not when you envisage 100,000 titles in there. That averages out at $5 a month per book.

Let's look at it another way. How many Prime members are there? 14 million? And they can check out one book a month (for now, bound to change)? Let's say 10 million of them avail of that per month. Let's also say that 30% of the books being checked out are indie books (which I think is conservative). That's 3 million indie books lent per month. And Amazon are paying $500,000 for the privilege. That works out to about 16c per book checked out. Which is peanuts.

That's going by current numbers. Prime membership will soar over the holidays. As will the number of self-publishers. As will the number of self-publishers interested in participating in this. Those numbers will only get worse. And the pot will never be as "sweet" as it is now.

As you can tell, my major issue is with there being a limited, fixed pot. I think that can only benefit Amazon. They are asking us to take a lot of risk (as well as asking for exclusivity), but they are taking little themselves - by limiting their potential outlay in this way.

I would much prefer if a reasonable rental fee was agreed that could be negotiated upward or downward in the future. I also think that not doing so sets a dangerous precedent - that once we agree to a fixed pot, we can never go back to a more equitable "per book/download" system.

2. Losing Price Advantage

One of the main competitive advantages that indies have is price. In a lending library every book "costs" the same to rent - nothing. You can't tempt readers away from the names they know with a book that's a third or a tenth of the price. You can't run a sale. You can't offer discounts. That competitive advantage is gone.

Another worry I would have is that this is the thin end of the wedge - that things like 70% royalties will become contingent on exclusivity and agreeing to the lending library. Although, I try to limit my brooding to things that are actually on the horizon

3. Exclusivity

How an author feels about exclusivity will really depend. I hear a lot of writers say they make 95% of their money (or more) from Amazon. I had 16% of my sales outside Amazon last month, and that percentage grows all the time. I'm trying to grow international sales - and Amazon have far less of the market in Europe, and there's no guarantee they will achieve the same dominance in, say, Spain, than they have in the US.

On top of that, I have quite a few readers who get hit with the Amazon surcharge. Those guys would be forced to pay $2 to $2.30 more per e-book and they would have no alternative. That would price shorts out of the market, and pretty much everything else. Exclusivity also means that you are more susceptible to outside shocks - such as Amazon running a Big 6 sale - with nothing else to pick up the slack. And, others may well feel differently about this, but I want to start selling direct from my own site - maybe in January.

And there are all sorts of other reasons why, on principle, I'm against exclusivity.


Those are my arguments against KDP Select and the Lending Library. But I'm not against it per se. If my readership was slightly different (more Amazon, less international, no surcharge readers), I would have less reservations about this. If I had a larger backlist, I would probably try out an underperforming title or two. If the compensation model was different, I would have way less qualms.

I see subscription models forming a big part of the mix in the future - whatever feelings any of us may have about them. I just don't think this is the right model, and I worry that it sets dangerous precedents in terms of compensation for authors.

[MaryMcDonald]

I respect this option, but I fear it...

First off, B&N has done wonders on their site and with the new Nook, why would you want to miss out on that?  I've personally seen my Nook sales grow the past two months.

Second, Amazon only accounts for about 50-60% of my sales (and for December, they are only at 47%)... why would I want to cut off 50% of my sales and customers?

Everyone's sales are different. To put it in perspective for me, I've sold about 34,000 books on Amazon this year. All my other sales combined are about 500 books. My Nook sales have not grown and I've been with Pubit since it started. Smashwords sales, directly and through the premium catalog only bumped up when my book was free in June. The sales are now down to one or two a month. I wish I would have known about KDP Select  was on the horizon a month ago so I could get the ball rolling on removing my books from the premium catalog. 

Third, this option with all the free is out of hand... people complaining about their sales, etc. it's all because of this free nonsense.  Stop making things free... but value on your work and let the readers come.  I'm tired of seeing someone with one or two books that don't get to the bestseller status in their first month hurry and make everything free and then brag about how much they "sell".  Stop it.  And the Select option lets you make things free... that's going to attract a lot of people, but I think it's dumb. 

That's your opinion, but my dumb move to make my book free in June earned me $18,000 that month. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Testing the waters with one title or so may work - I get it - but those who want to take all their books down elsewhere... that scares me a little.  There are so many other vendors and other customers for a reason!  Heck, even a small place like OmniLit is accounting for 17% of my sales this month... I couldn't imagine not having my book there for those customers to enjoy.

-jb

Then don't take your books down. I don't understand the fear. What are you worried about? What I do shouldn't affect your book sales.

I don't know if choosing KDP Select will work for me, but in my case, I have very little to lose. I know some people here sell a ton of books on other sites, and I wouldn't blame them for not embracing this new program. We all have to do what is right for us.

[MaryMcDonald]

I dropped Suspense in there, and we'll see how long it takes to show up as enrolled. Funny that Pubit isn't allowing books to be removed. I wonder if they caught wind of this!

Wait...what do you mean they aren't allowing? I clicked 'Take Off Sale' about an hour ago. Does this mean B&N won't honor that?

[davidhburton]

Since I'm one of those anomalies that sells better at Kobo and B&N, this may not be for me. If I had a new title, I'd likely jump on it and see what it did for me.

[_Sheila_]

I was invited to do this some time ago.  I've had multiple conversations with Amazon regarding this and other projects.

I have decided to include one book.  I do not think that it will be of any advantage to me.  I have no intention of pricing any of my books at zero.  If I had access to a lending library with a limited number of books I could borrow, I'd look for the most expensive books on my wish list to borrow -  my book(s) don't fit that description - there is no reason for anyone to borrow my books from the lending library.  The current 'perks' aren't going to do much for me.  But I am willing to participate with the one book I've chosen, and probably all new books (with the exception of my 99 cents series) as they are published.  Amazon will have them exclusively and available for the lending library for at least the first 90 days.

Why?  Mostly as a goodwill gesture.

I've spoken to Amazon staff about some other projects that I think would be VERY advantageous to Indies - and they are kind enough to look into the possibilities.  I know that some of the projects are actually pretty easy to implement and are a good possibility.  No promises have been made.

Success breeds success - if Amazon sees Indies as people that are willing to participate in innovative ideas and are easier to work with - they are more likely to try new ways to help Indies (although I do not think this project is helpful to the average Indie - there are others that are)  

If every idea that anyone comes up with is shot down or attacked why would Amazon go out of their way to come up with anything more Indie friendly?

I think it is to my advantage to present myself in a positive and cooperative light.

Sheila

[RedTash]

I've made $4.02 from Smashwords and its related sales channels (including B&N and Apple, Kobo & Sony) since hitting the publish button in September.  I've got nothing to lose from a 90 day trial, so I'm going for it.  It'll make a nice tie-in with my paperback release.

I'll decide whether or not to renew in March.  Perhaps if enough of us say "Thanks, but no thanks" after the initial trial, Amazon will be willing to add more features to this program.  Something to lure us back.

I know there will be a lot more Nooks in readers' hands over the holidays, but my B&N sales have been abyssmal, so I don't think taking the book down from their site until March will be a big deal.  I am betting there will still be more Kindle Fires out there than Nooks.  Right now the Kindle/Nook argument among readers reminds me of the Windows/Mac thing.  People love their Nooks, but there need to be *more* of them to justify *not* trying a 90 day experiment, from where I'm sittin'.

[_Sheila_]

Wait...what do you mean they aren't allowing? I clicked 'Take Off Sale' about an hour ago. Does this mean B&N won't honor that?

I clicked "Take Off Sale" and the book was down in hours.

B&N has been having some reporting issues lately - I'm sure that it is as simple as that.

If they don't take down your book in a reasonable period of time - email them.  They aren't going to hold your book hostage.  

Sheila

[SentientSurfer]

I am a Prime Member and I get 1 book a month for free.  The books I'll borrow for the month are the ones that are $10+, not some $2.99 indie book. 

This was my reaction since they are limited to one book a month, they'd likely go with the most expensive titles they can. That's what I would do, anyway.

[Mel Comley]

Don't forget to read the terms and conditions guys in particular this one.

5 Your Commitment. Your commitment to these terms and conditions is important, and the benefits we provide to you as part of this option are conditioned on your following through on your commitments. If you un-publish your Digital Book, we will remove it from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, but you must continue to comply with these commitments, including exclusivity, through the remainder of the Digital Book’s then-current 90-day period of participation in KDP Select. If you don’t comply with these KDP Select terms and conditions, we will not owe you Royalties for that Digital Book earned through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library Program, and we may offset any of those Royalties that were previously paid against future Royalties, or require you to remit them to us. We may also withhold your Royalty payments on all your Digital Books for a period of up to 90 days while we investigate. This doesn’t limit other remedies we have, such as prohibiting your future participation in KDP Select or KDP generally.

All I'm saying is be cautious. 

[Courtney Milan]

Last month, Amazon accounted for 26% of my revenue. So, yes, for me personally, I don't see this being worthwhile.

[Rhynedahll]

That fixed pot sounds sweet - $500,000 per month - but not when you envisage 100,000 titles in there. That averages out at $5 a month per book.

Let's look at it another way. How many Prime members are there? 14 million? And they can check out one book a month (for now, bound to change)? Let's say 10 million of them avail of that per month. Let's also say that 30% of the books being checked out are indie books (which I think is conservative). That's 3 million indie books lent per month. And Amazon are paying $500,000 for the privilege. That works out to about 16c per book checked out. Which is peanuts.

That's going by current numbers. Prime membership will soar over the holidays. As will the number of self-publishers. As will the number of self-publishers interested in participating in this. Those numbers will only get worse. And the pot will never be as "sweet" as it is now.

As you can tell, my major issue is with there being a limited, fixed pot. I think that can only benefit Amazon. They are asking us to take a lot of risk (as well as asking for exclusivity), but they are taking little themselves - by limiting their potential outlay in this way.

I would much prefer if a reasonable rental fee was agreed that could be negotiated upward or downward in the future. I also think that not doing so sets a dangerous precedent - that once we agree to a fixed pot, we can never go back to a more equitable "per book/download" system.

I thought about this as well.  I expect that the average participant might get next to nothing for each loaned book.

One fact: while they imply that the fund amount will go up, it's more likely to go down.  I'd consider the half-mil a starter incentive.

At this point, I don't think the pros overcome the cons.

[CaitLondon]

With Smashwords associates out there for a long time, it may be impossible to cut them off for that exclusivity clause.

I think Amazon likely got tired of people low-balling/freeing their books other places in order for Amazon to Free them. Also, they closed their Shorts program.

I do think spreading it around other markets is smart, but maybe testing with 1-2 projects and not going entirely. All new stuff to consider. I'm having a hard time just keeping up.

[dgaughran]

I thought about this as well.  I expect that the average participant might get next to nothing for each loaned book.

One fact: while they imply that the fund amount will go up, it's more likely to go down.  I'd consider the half-mil a starter incentive.

At this point, I don't think the pros overcome the cons.

The only thing we know for sure is that the fund for December is $500,000. Amazon says they "expect" the fund for 2012 to be "at least" $6 million, but that's not in the ToS (as far as I can see), so it's not something they have agreed to.

It's slightly troubling that they are asking you to sign on for 90 days but can only guarantee the pot for a third of that time (and can't guarantee any minimum fee each time your book is rented).

The math gets worse and worse the more popular the program gets - I can't see the pot rising exponentially.

I think self-publishers should look at the big picture here - aside from what is immediately good/bad for your own sales. Subscription models are expected to form a big part of the mix in the future. In other words, a significant amount of reading is expected to move away from straight ebook-buying (like we have now) to a mix of ebook-buying, ebook library lending (through regular libraries), rentals (like this), and other subscription models (where readers read for free and have to put up with ads and/or pay a monthly fee).

The terms we agree to now will set a precedent for the future. I think this model sets the bar way too low in terms of compensation, and it's quite worrying that there is no minimum rental fee that the author can expect.

In short, the more indies that sign up to this, the less you will receive.

[Victorine]

Maybe I have to read the finer details when I get home from work later - but wouldn't the lending library potentially reduce sales? I know you can earn a percentage depending on downloads, but if it's available to borrow, what's the lure in purchasing?

Also is this a one time enrollment or will it still be available next year? I'd prefer to see a progress report of users who did this and maybe by week, how their sales AND ranking on amazon were impacted.

You will earn money for each borrow. How much depends on how many books were borrowed that month. For December, everyone is splitting $500,000, so if there are a million borrows each one will earn you $.50. If there are only 500,000 borrows, each one will earn you $1.

Vicki

[jimbronyaur]

Well, again, the bottom line, aside from opinions, etc. is that each and every person needs to look at the contract and their personal situation before making a decision here.

I will say that I do appreciate Amazon taking the time to entertain new programs that they feel will benefit us.  It's been a wild ride this year with so many changes, so as Sheila said, I hope Amazon wouldn't feel "attacked" or anything by the opinions... just everyone has their own path.

I do hope that those who venture into KDP Select will report back with some news in the near future to see how the program is working.  

But aside from opinion and emotion, I have too many sales from outside vendors to commit to the Select program - but again, I do value Amazon's ability to look to the future and willingness to try new things.

-jb